Collapsed Onondaga County sewer caused South Avenue sinkhole

View full sizeDennis Nett/File photoSgt Daniel Deegan (left) and officer Chris Bresett of the Syracuse Police Dept, look at a sink hole Thursday on South Avenue near Fairfield Avenue. A contractor for Onondaga County today began fixing the sewer that caused the collapse, officials said.

Syracuse, NY – The sinkhole that undermined a piece of Syracuse’s South Avenue on Thursday was caused by a compromised Onondaga County sewer pipe, officials said today.

Heavy rains from tropical storms Lee and Irene and less exotic storms caused a defect in a 15-inch-diameter sanitary sewer trunk line, causing it to collapse, said Nick Capozza, the county’s sewer maintenance engineer.

A county contractor today began replacing a 10-foot section of the vitreous clay pipe. The replacement should be done by the end of the day. The final restoration of the pavement should be completed next week, after new concrete road base has three days drying time, Capozza said.

The 10-foot by 5-foot sinkhole fell in with a loud crash about 11 a.m. Thursday, according to Charles Hudson, whose property fronts the road at that point.